What the exit-value sandbox does
The sandbox takes a handful of inputs about a business and shows how they combine into a rough exit value. You adjust the inputs and watch the result move. That is the whole point: it is a way to see which levers matter, not a way to get a number to put in a contract.
It is built on the same logic buyers use most often for owner-run businesses: a view of sustainable earnings, adjusted by factors that reflect growth and risk. Push owner dependence up and the value falls. Make revenue more recurring and it rises. Improve the trend and it rises again.
Use it to test ideas. If you reduced customer concentration, how much would it matter? If you kept the owner salary realistic rather than taking everything as profit, what happens? The answers are directional, and that is useful.
What it does not do
It does not value your business. The factors it uses are generic and illustrative. Real multiples vary by industry, size, location and market conditions, and change over time. The sandbox does not know your industry, has not seen your financial statements and cannot account for the specific buyer who might be interested.
It does not consider the tax consequences of a sale, which depend on your structure, how long you have held the business and the ATO's current rules. It does not consider working capital adjustments, earn-outs, stock, property or any of the other terms that shape what an owner actually receives.
Do not use its output to set an asking price, to negotiate with a buyer or partner, to support a loan application or for any legal, tax or financial decision. If you need a number for any of those, you need a proper valuation.
How to use it well
Start with honest inputs. Use profit after a realistic market salary for yourself, not profit before you have been paid. Be truthful about how dependent the business is on you and how concentrated your customers are. Flattering inputs give flattering outputs and teach you nothing.
Then change one thing at a time. The sandbox is most useful for comparing scenarios, not for reading a single result. Note which inputs move the result most. Those are the areas where effort over the next year or two is likely to be rewarded.
Finally, write down the questions it raises. Those questions, more than the output, are what to bring to a strategy call.
- Use sustainable profit after a market salary for the owner
- Be honest about owner dependence and customer concentration
- Change one input at a time and note what moves the result
- Treat the output as a direction, never as a price
- Bring the questions, not the number, to your accountant
Why real valuations look different
A real valuation starts with your actual financial statements, usually across several years. Earnings are adjusted for one-off items, related-party arrangements and owner costs. The adjusted figure is then compared against evidence: recent sales of similar businesses, industry data and the risks specific to your business.
It also considers who the likely buyers are, because a competitor, a private buyer and an investor each value the same business differently. And it considers the deal itself, since the headline price and what the owner keeps after tax, debt and working capital adjustments can be very different numbers.
None of that fits in a sandbox. That is why the tool exists alongside the service, not instead of it.
How to get a real business valuation
Business valuation sits within our Mergers, Acquisitions & Exit Planning service. We work with owners preparing for sale, partners buying each other in or out, families planning succession and investors assessing an acquisition.
The process starts with a strategy call. We look at your numbers, your structure and your timeline, and we tell you what a valuation would involve and what it would cost before anything begins. If a sale is a year or more away, we can also show you what to fix first so the eventual number is higher.
Illustrative only. General information, not advice. The sandbox and this page do not consider your circumstances, and the ATO's current rules apply to any sale.
Questions we get asked
Is this business valuation calculator accurate?
No, and it is not meant to be. It is an illustrative sandbox that shows how profit, growth and risk interact in a generic way. It does not know your industry, has not seen your financial statements and uses simplified factors. Treat the output as a direction for thinking, not as a value. A real valuation uses your actual numbers and current market evidence.
Can I use the result to set an asking price?
Please do not. Asking prices should be based on a proper valuation that considers your adjusted earnings, industry evidence, the risks specific to your business and the likely buyers. Using a sandbox figure in a negotiation puts you at a disadvantage against a buyer who has done their own analysis. The tool is for exploring levers, not pricing a deal.
What inputs does the sandbox use?
A view of sustainable profit, plus factors that reflect growth and risk, such as revenue trend, how recurring the revenue is, customer concentration and owner dependence. These are the same themes a buyer looks at. The factors are generic and illustrative, so the result shows how those themes interact rather than what any particular buyer would pay.
How much does a real business valuation cost?
It depends on the size and complexity of the business and what the valuation is for. A valuation to guide exit planning is scoped differently from one needed for a partner buy-out or a dispute. We discuss the purpose on a strategy call and give you a written scope and fee before any work starts, so there are no surprises.
How far ahead of a sale should I get a valuation?
A year or two ahead is ideal. That gives you a realistic range, shows which risks are costing you the most and leaves time to fix them. Cleaning up records, reducing owner dependence and tidying the structure all take months. A valuation the week before you list the business can only tell you what it is worth today, not help you improve it.
